Tool Return to Work on New Studio Album

Yes, Tool fans have been waiting for some time, but it looks as though progress is being made toward a new album. In a new posting on the band's website, it's stated that the group will continue working on new material after having recently completed another mini-tour.

The post also alludes to the fact that the Tool album is a work in progress, essentially intimating that things are already underway for the often secretive band. In the post, the author writes, "I say 'continue' because -- contrary to those who thought that the tour would only further delay the writing process -- with all four band members together during sound checks, catering, etc., I'm fairly certain that they spent a considerable portion of that time experimenting with new tunes. In which case, the tour might have actually sped things up a bit. But then again, this snifter of cognac is half full."

The update also suggests that there's another mystery Tool project that the band was working on prior to the tour, but no further details were given.

The road to a new Tool album has been a long one. Last fall, frontman Maynard James Keenanstated that making a Tool album is often a long and laborious process. He explained, "I don’t write the music. They [my bandmates] write the music. I wait for them to bring music to me. They tend to go back over and over stuff. It’s a long process. For a person like me, it can be a very tedious process.”

He would later add, "In some ways, they are bigger perfectionists. But you can only help support their talent so long. They don’t have to go through it 700 times. They can trust that first thought. But that’s their process, so you gotta let them do it.”

Just last month, fans got their hopes up when guitarist Adam Jones tweeted that the album was already recorded and coming out "tomorrow," but Jones later tweeted that his comment was a joke.